Ri Il Hwan, member of the Political Bureau and secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, made a condolatory address at the ceremony of bidding last farewell to the late Kim Ki Nam on May 9.

In the condolatory address Ri Il Hwan said that, though there were many veterans who left traces of loyalty in traversing the road of glory following our Party, it is hard to find such a veteran revolutionary like Kim Ki Nam who defended the validity of our ideology and cause while playing a core role on the ideological front of the Party with invariable loyalty to it to preserve the lifeline of the Korean revolution and dynamically accelerate its accomplishment for more than 60 years.

Kim Ki Nam grew up to be an intellectual of a new Korea and a pillar of the Party under the care of President Kim Il Sung, said Ri Il Hwan, praising his fervent loyalty to the leader, which ran through his whole life.

He went on:

Kim Ki Nam came to have and glorify his political integrity and physical life under the care of the Party and the leader and dedicated himself to the accomplishment of the historic cause of modelling the whole Party and the whole society on Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism.

Gifted with resolute and ardent mind, he performed distinguished feats with matchless qualifications and refined traits on the important ideological front, which others cannot defend easily.

His boundless loyalty to the ideology and cause of the Party was perfectly combined with his honesty and uprightness, which added brilliance to his career to make it a mirror for posterity.

The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un climbed to the top of Mt Paektu with him to inject new vitality into his old-age life, sent a heart-warming autograph full of love and affection to him on his 85th birthday in praise of the exploits the veteran soldier performed by working for a long time in a responsible position for overseeing the ideological work of the whole Party, and made sure that the title of Labor Hero, the highest honour of the Korean people, was awarded to him on his 90th birthday, thus seeing to it that the old loyalist enjoyed the greatest glory and happiness.

As he was an honest man with his inmost heart burning with the will to repay the kindness of the benefactor of his life, he kept the writing brush in his hand even in his 90s to leave behind the truth of history, which he had witnessed and experienced, and even in sickbed, in agony with his failure to help the leader well, he repeatedly asked others to faithfully uphold the guidance of Comrade Kim Jong Un.

The red flag wrapping you is associated with the warm blood you dedicated all your life, and we will faithfully uphold the leadership of Comrade Kim Jong Un for the brilliant accomplishment of the Juche revolution, to which you devoted your all, and console your spirit by remaining faithful to the mission and duty we have assumed before the Party and the revolution, the country and posterity.